Patent boom signals robust innovation

Country's AI invention growth outruns global average, fueling digital economy

China's invention patents related to core industries of the digital economy continued to grow last year, especially in the field of artificial intelligence, an official from the country's top intellectual property regulator said on Monday.

"As a hot area of technological creativity, innovation in the digital economy was very active in 2023, becoming an important engine of economic growth," Ge Shu, head of the China Intellectual Property Administration's Strategic Planning Department, told a news conference.

He revealed that China's authorized invention patents in the core industries of the digital economy reached 406,000 in 2023, with an average annual growth rate of 21 percent in the past five years.

By the end of last year, a total of 150,000 domestic enterprises had invention patents regarding the digital economy, an increase of 31,000 over the previous year, he said, noting "innovation in the AI field in particular is more robust".

Specifically, the number of valid AI-related invention patents in China rose to 378,000 last year, year-on-year growth of more than 40 percent and also 1.4 times the global average growth rate, he said.

To meet requirements in a recently released resolution of the central leadership, he added that the administration will strengthen cooperation with other authorities to play the IP role in stimulating innovation, so as to better support digital economic development.

Promoting the digital economy and establishing an efficient system for the comprehensive management of IP rights were written into the resolution adopted at the third plenary session of the 20th Communist Party of China Central Committee, which concluded in Beijing on July 18.

Stressing that protecting IP rights protects innovation, Shen Changyu, head of the administration, called for deepening IP reforms by incentivizing innovation.

With a focus more on patent reviews regarding key and core technologies, he said that IP transformation and application should be boosted to help the country achieve self-reliance in science and technology at a higher level.

In addition, he urged greater efforts to serve high-level opening-up by deepening IP management and reforms, with stronger participation in IP global governance and formulation of relevant rules.

"We must continuously uphold the principle of equally protecting every enterprise, regardless of whether it's domestic or foreign, so as to attract more global resources by creating a market-oriented, law-based and internationalized business environment," he added.

According to the data, over 5,000 foreign and joint-venture companies have registered at 115 national-level IP protection centers across China as of last year, "which means they can enjoy the same IP-related services as domestic innovators through quick channels," said Hu Wenhui, deputy head of the administration.

To learn more about the difficulties and needs of foreign enterprises, the administration has also established a system to increase communication with them and endeavored to help them deal with IP-related disputes in China, he said.

"For instance, since the beginning of last year, we've helped innovators from many countries, including the United States, Germany, France, Italy, Thailand and Denmark successfully solve IP-related lawsuits, receiving their praise," he added.

He said that by the end of June, the number of valid foreign invention patents in China had reached 919,000, while valid trademarks were up 2.13 million, representing increases of 3.9 percent and 3.8 percent respectively year-on-year.

"These figures demonstrate that foreign enterprises have attached great importance to the Chinese market, and have full confidence in our IP protection," he said.